Faringdon branch

The Faringdon branch was a 3+1⁄2-mile-long branch line from Uffington Station to Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse, in Oxfordshire.

v t e Faringdon Branch
Legend
Faringdon Uffington Great Western Main Line to Bristol │ to London

History

Opening

Faringdon Railway Act 1860
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for making a Railway from the Great Western Railway to the Town of Faringdon, to be called "The Faringdon Railway."
Citation	23 & 24 Vict. c. cxcvi
Dates
Royal assent	13 August 1860
Text of statute as originally enacted

The line was authorised by the Faringdon Railway Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. cxcvi) and opened in 1864, between Faringdon and the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Uffington, with construction funded by a consortium of local businessmen called the Faringdon Railway Company, which was bought outright by the GWR under the Great Western Railway Act 1886 (49 & 50 Vict. c. cvi).^[1]

The line was inspected on 13 April 1864 by Capt. F. H. Rich R.E., who found numerous faults that prevented the line's opening, including weak bridges. Rich re-inspected the line on 13 May and passed the line for opening, which was done on 1 June 1864.^[2]

Gauge conversion

Constructed as a broad gauge line, it was converted to standard gauge in 1878.

Decline and closure

Passenger traffic peaked in 1913, but later declined to such an extent that the passenger service was withdrawn in 1951. Freight traffic continued to use the line until the Beeching cuts of 1963.

Reopening proposal

Faringdon Town Council proposed in 2005 to reopen the line,^[3] but it remains closed.